Along with co-hosts James May and Richard Hammond, Jeremy Clarkson has signed a new three-year contract with BBC2 to continue hosting Top Gear. What a relief. Without the snarky Yorkshireman at the helm, the whole thing would go to pieces.

But the real news here is how much money Clarkson is making and how he makes it. After nearly 25 years on the job with Top Gear he is raking in the pounds sterling. Once you add merchandising revenue to the BBC licensing fee, his salary edges close to $5 million.

A big chunk of this revenue comes from the for-profit arm of his operations, Bedder 6, which he operates with producer Andy Wilman. This allows Clarkson and others to take extra dollars from the commercial rights to the show and merchandise. The Beeb's Worldwide Productions arm is taking control of this company 100%, allowing Hammond and May to get a cut of the revenues.

This clears up some of the interesting financial arrangements Clarkson has benefited from while also giving his co-hosts a fairer share. Oh, yeah, and I'm sure they're getting a nice payout from BBC Worldwide.